Broken Hearts Mended
by Stelena-Beautiful
Summary: Jack and Nikki, finding their way back.


**Broken Hearts Mended**

This is a Jack and Nikki reunion story. It closely follows current canon. Nikki and Jack of course both now know that Victor knew the truth about Adam killing Delia and are both infuriated with him. Also, Nikki is dealing with the return of Ian Ward and trying to get close to her son, Dylan, at the same time. This may be a long, angsty fiction so hold on tightly.

**Chapter 1**

"_Billy is alive!"_ Victoria gasped out as soon as Nikki had picked up the phone.

"Victoria, oh my … Are you sure?" Nikki asked. Her heart slammed painfully against her chest as she heard Victoria's muffled sobs on the other end of the line. "Victoria, talk to me. Please."

"Mom, he's alive. I'm sure too, because I saw him with my own two eyes. He's here with me now – well, he's upstairs showering, trying to wash away all of the soot and grime from the accident but …" Victoria's voice trailed off for a moment and when she spoke again, it came out sounding impossibly hoarse. "He's back but he doesn't feel back, if that makes sense. I mean, he feels further away than ever and I'm so worried about him, Mom."

Nikki felt tears building in her own eyes. "I am so glad he's alive but we both know, Victoria – we both know better than anyone how devastating the loss of a child can be. He's going to need a lot of time and support and love but luckily you can give him all those things. Just love him the way you always have and you'll make it through, somehow, someway."

"I hope you're right," Victoria whispered. "I am so glad he's home and safe. We can deal with everything else – together, right?."

"Yes. Just as a loving couple should," Nikki agreed. In the back of her mind, she was thinking about how she and Victor no longer dealt with their problems together – not even close. They too were further apart than ever before, but for very different reasons. She had lied about her son Dylan and Victor couldn't get over that no matter what Nikki's reasoning had been. He had continued to push her away but the worst part was that he had betrayed their daughter when he kept Adam's dirty little secret for his own benefit. Nikki could strangle Victor for that. How would Victoria feel when she found out the lengths Victor had gone to, to win Connor, with no regards to Victoria's feelings or her marriage?

"Mom, you got quiet on me all of a sudden," Victoria said. "Is everything alright?"

"No, honestly, Victoria, it's not."

"You and Dad …"

Nikki sighed. "Don't worry about anything else but Billy right now, alright? Go to him and hold him tight and let him know you won't give up on him."

"I will do that," Victoria said. "I just hope he accepts my reaching out to him."

"Just be patient with him, Victoria. He needs time," Nikki reiterated.

"I will go talk to him now. I actually just heard the water shut-off. I will call you later, okay?"

"Yes, please do. We need to make a time to get together. I need to tell you some things. They're not important now though."

"Okay …"

"I love you, Victoria."

"I love you too, Mom. Good bye."

"Goodbye, honey." Nikki heard a dial tone and sighed. She hung up the phone and turned to look at the bed. Victor hadn't slept beside her last night. It wasn't a new thing either. Rather, it was becoming a routine. She had gone to bed angry and hurt and he had not tried to come to her. She was so infuriated with him but the hardest part was that she loved him; yes, she loved him to distraction but she was starting to wonder if he would ever truly return the feeling.

XoXoXo

Nikki spent the next hour preparing for the day ahead. She had a lot to accomplish and people that she needed to see. Jack Abbott being at the top of her list. She needed to tell him that his suspicions about Victor were correct. She had no choice. She had to try to do damage control – for Victor's sake, even if Victor didn't deserve it and would prefer she didn't do a damn thing at all. But it was Nikki's instinct to protect her loved ones – even the ones like Victor who drove her insane. She just hated to think of the pain Jack was going through because of Victor's treachery. This would only give Jack another reason to hate Victor; the fuse would be lit on an already heated situation and the war between them would never end. Things would explode, much the way that car had in the forest.

Nikki thought of Adam. She hadn't had the chance to ask Victoria if Adam had survived the crash. They had found a body in the car, her son Nick had told her, right before the car incinerated. If Adam was dead … That was just another horrible event in a long series of them. Part of her thought it would be better if Adam was dead and could never hurt anyone again; another part of her thought he needed to face what he had done, and still another part of her thought that Adam's death would benefit no one. She wondered most of all how Victor would handle it. Her life had revolved around the man for so long that she didn't know how to stop loving him or wanting him or trying to protect him from himself. There were even times she hated him. Right now, she wasn't sure how she felt about him, in all honesty.

She finished dressing in a somber black dress and then slipped a strand of pearls around her neck. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked tired and drawn – just the way she felt. She was running herself ragged these days and her doctor Stitch Rayburn would say that she was putting her health in jeopardy but how could she possibly relax when all of this drama was going on?

She grabbed her clutch purse off of the dresser, checked it for her wallet and keys and then headed downstairs. She found Victor in the study, watching the large screen TV. The news was on and a local reporter was giving an update on the car explosion. Nikki watched Victor from the doorway. He didn't seem to notice her. His hand was on his stubbly beard. Nikki heard the reporter say that there had been a body in the car at the time and while the police were remaining tight-lipped on the identity of the person who had died, it was widely suspected that "the victim" was none other than Victor Newman the Second, also known as Adam.

Nikki let out a deep breath she didn't even know that she had been holding. Victor heard it and turned to look at her. Nikki searched his eyes for some kind of emotion but there was none. She knew him well enough to know that he was not feeling particularly upset about this – not even close. "My god," she couldn't resist snapping out. "Did you hate your own son that much that you can't even manufacture a tear that he may be gone forever?"

"Nikki," Victor said in his gravelly, familiar voice. There was a tinge of warning in his words. "Don't stand there and tell me that you will miss Adam. You never liked him – in fact, you barely tolerated him."

"That's true, Victor, and I hate what he did to Billy and Delia –" She watched Victor pull a face at the mention of Billy but she continued on. "I hate what he did. I hated him in all honesty but he was your son. And he's Connor's father. No little child should have to grow up without their parent. It's Connor I feel saddest for."

"Connor will be just fine. I'll see to that," Victor said. "He will be living here in short-order."

"Victor, you can't do this."

"You can't seriously believe I'd let that con-artist and grifter Chelsea Lawson raise my grandson."

"She's his mother!"

"And a damn poor one too," Victor said. "Or she wouldn't have gotten re-involved with the likes of Adam."

"Then you admit you hated your own flesh and blood?" Nikki couldn't believe how cold-blooded Victor was being. "Your own son, your own-"

"He was no son to me, Nikki," Victor snapped. "He damn sure never acted like one."

"Well you didn't exactly act like a father either. Maybe if you had, none of this would have happened."

Now Victor's eyes had an expression. They will filled with rage. "How dare you try to put this on me?" He thundered. "You never wanted Adam to be a part of my life because you would have to share me with him. Victoria and Nicholas would have to share me with him too. You never wanted that or any connection to Hope. You are being a hypocrite. Maybe if you hadn't given up your own bastard Dylan, you would not be projecting your failings onto me!"

Nikki felt tears burning her eyes. Hot, angry tears. She clutched her purse tightly between her fingers to keep from slapping Victor across the face. Her fingers were white and bloodless, as were her lips. "You take that back," she snapped out finally. "I love Dylan and he's no bastard. I love him in a way you never loved or tolerated Adam."

"It doesn't matter. You and I both did what we needed to do, Nikki – what we thought was best."

"It's not the same thing."

"It's not that different either," Victor grumbled.

"Yes it is."

"You keep telling yourself that, Nikki, if it helps you sleep better at night."

"I will. Just don't expect me to be sleeping under this roof anytime soon." She couldn't believe it but Victor was smirking that shit-eating smirk he always sported with people he found inferior to him. She realized in that moment that that's what he thought of her – that she lesser, substandard even, and pathetic. She should have known he would be unaffected by her words. He almost always was and he expected her to take him back every time he treated her horribly. Which was more often than not these days.

She told herself not to cry and she was firm about it. "Goodbye, Victor. I need some time – some time to be away from you so I don't do or say something I can never take back." She then turned on her heel and practically ran from the room and the ranch itself.

**A/N:** Did my Victor hate shine through here? LOL Sorry but he makes me sick and he treats Nikki so horribly. Anyway, I'd love some feedback on this story please. There will be Jikki scenes in the next chapter, for sure!


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